Southwest Airlines said Monday that longtime executive Jim Sokol, its vice president of maintenance operations, will retire Sept. 15 after 20 years with the company.

“Jim’s contributions to our operation, our fleet and our people guided the maintenance operation through the most challenging years our industry has experienced,” Southwest chief operating officer says Mike Van de Ven said in Southwest’s announcement. “Under his leadership, Southwest has remained a resilient and efficient operation benchmarked by companies around the globe.”

The airline announced these promotions, effective Tuesday, July 1:

– Jack Smith, vice president of ground operations, will become senior vice president of operations, including technical operations, ground operations, and cargo and charters.

– Landon Nitschke, senior director of maintenance, will take over Sokol’s job of vice president of maintenance operations.

– Steve Goldberg, managing director of ground operations, will become vice president of ground operations.

Here’s what it says about each:

Smith: “Jack is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, joining Southwest from AirTran Airways, where he served as senior vice president of customer service. His aviation career includes leadership roles in ground operations, inflight, cargo, reservations, and customer relations.”

Nitschke: “Prior to Southwest, Landon’s airline career included the position of managing director of line maintenance at Northwest/Delta Airlines. He started his maintenance career in 1992 as an aviation maintenance technician for Northwest/Delta. Landon’s responsibilities include ensuring safe and reliable aircraft to Southwest customers and crew members. This includes maintaining a fleet of nearly 700 aircraft.”

Goldberg: “Steve joined Southwest in 1996 and has served as managing director since 2013. Steve will oversee airport operations at Southwest’s 93 airports, including responsibility for 15,000 ground operations employees.”

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Terry Maxon writes about items of interest to travelers and the aviation community.